Immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has been nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the new Minister of Defence.
The Special Adviser to the President on
Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said this in a statement on Tuesday,
December 2, 2025.
In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu conveyed General Musa’s nomination as Alhaji Abubakar’s successor.
Thenewsbearer reports that General Musa was seen by Punch newspaper correspondent arriving at the Presidential Villa on Monday, December 1, at about 7:03p.m., following which he was led into the President’s office by a senior security official.
This was on the same day the erstwhile Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, tendered his resignation.
Born in Sokoto on December 25, 1967, General Musa is a distinguished soldier who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
General Musa received his primary and secondary education in Sokoto before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.
He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.
General Musa was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has since had a distinguished career.
His appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
In 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.
In 2022, the African Youths Initiative For Good Governance and Peace honored him with the Nelson Mandela Exemplary Leadership Award, for his outstanding contributions to peacekeeping, and protection of the Nation’s territorial integrity.
Same year, in December, during the 2nd edition of the Africa-Dubai Investment Business Summit held in Dubai, he was awarded the Fellowship of the Institute of Leadership Assessment and Development.
In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
